Former LDS leader in Texas sentenced to 10 years for sex parties with boys

by Larry D. Curtis, KUTV

Former LDS leader in Texas sentenced to 10 years for sex parties with boys (Photo: Baxar County Sheriff's Office)

(KUTV) A former high school teacher, and a "church youth teacher" in an LDS church in a suburb of Texas, was sentenced to 10 years in jail. The sentencing was part of a plea agreement involving his sexual activities with teen boys.

He was arrested in 2016 after he was accused of hosting sex parties with teens in his house on several occasions where he encouraged them to strip and coerced them into lewd conduct.

According to New4Sanantonio, police said he confessed to the inappropriate conduct with at least 10 boys. At one of the parties, in February, 2016, he hosted a "bro's night" where boys were greeted at the door with a sign that read, "The last one to strip naked gets the first dare." It was also reported that the boys sent pictures of their genitals to each other. Anderson was said to be disrobed as well.

Jared Anderson was 28 in 2016 when two victims came forward and first told church authorities about the parties that had been going on for months with "numerous" boys. The church then contacted child protective services, according a Texas website, that quotes Sgt. Jesse Salame with San Antonio police. Police were also contacted.

“During those parties, he played games where he encouraged them to get naked and perform sexual acts on one another,” Salame said.

Eagnews.org reported the boys interviewed about the parties were from his church group and that the parties were "church parties."

The LDS church issued a statement at the time of his arrest. It read:

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has zero tolerance for abuse of any kind. When we learned of the situation, local leaders reported it immediately to law enforcement. Anderson has been removed from all responsibilities within the local congregation. The Church is supportive of the efforts of authorities to investigate and prosecute this matter.

It was reported that none of the boys were from the school where Anderson was named teacher of the year.

As part of the plea deal with the court, Anderson pleaded guilty to four counts of sexual performance by a child and two counts of indecency with a child by exposure.

He requested a form of probation but district jugde Steven C. Hillbig denied him, handing down a 10-year sentence. He had faced 20 years in prison but the plea reduced that possible time.

“My only recourse is to give you 10 years or give you probation,” Hilbig said, according to the New York Post. “And frankly, sir, I don’t believe you deserve deferred adjudication.”

The Post also reports that Anderson was honored as teacher of the year two months before his arrest in March, 2016. School officials placed him on administrative leave and then fired him. At the time Judson High School released the following statement about the English teacher:

Judson High School teacher Jared Anderson has been put on administrative leave pending the results of an investigation being conducted by San Antonio Police of allegations of sexual misconduct. Mr. Anderson has been employed by JISD for two and a half years as an English teacher. Judson ISD is obviously very concerned about these charges and will fully cooperate with the ongoing investigation by SAPD, but will let the legal process take its course. As has been explained in the past, Judson ISD conducts a multi-layered screening process with every potential employee that checks for any and all felony or misdemeanor charges.

On a protected Twitter account Anderson can be seen wearing a missionary name tag and stating he is a student at BYU-Idaho, studying English education. A website he set up for his students, referenced by other websites, has been stripped of information. Heavy.com wrote that it said he was married with two sons. It also linked to a blog that is closed that he served in the Utah, Ogden mission, that the Mormon church made him who he is and prompted readers to ask him about his religion. It confirmed his graduation from BYU-Idaho with a LinkedIn profile that no longer has a working link.